John birkenhead



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JOHN BIR-KENHEAD, or CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

etters Patent No. 80,384, dated July 28, 1868.

IMPROVED DRIVING-WHEEL FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME:

Be it known that I, JOHN BIRKENHEAD, of Canton, in the county of Norfo1k,-and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Driving'Wheels of Locomotive-Engines for railways; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification, and represented-in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure'l denotesa side view, and

Figure 2 a transverse section of a driving-wheel, with my invention applied to its flange.

The nature of such invention'consists in combining with or applying to the wheel-flange one or more spurs, or What Ivterm creepers, they being angular or pointed projections to extend from the llange radially.

They are intended to assist the driver in propelling the engine when there may be snow or ice on or alongside of the rail or rails of the track. When the wheel would be likely to stop and not turn around on the top of the raih, the spurs or creepers, by entering the ice or snow alongside of the rail, will cause the wheel to propel the engine. I do not confine myinvention to any particular number of such spurs or creepers, as such a number of. them may be employed on a wheel as may be deemed proper under any circumstances.

In the drawings, A denotes the wheel, a its flange, and b b, 850., the series of spurs or creepers projecting from such flange.

They may be fastened directly to the flange, or to springs fastened thereto, that is to say, each creeper may project from one end of a steel spring whose other end is secured to the flange, the object of the spring being to enable the creeper to give way or move toward the centre of the wheel, while thecreeper may be passing on and over an obstacle, such as a stone, for instance, which may be lodged on the track. There may be other ways of applying the creepers to the wheel-flange. I intend .to adoptany which will be advantageous and proper. V

I am aware that it is not new to extend from the treadsot' the driviug-wheel of locomotive'e ngines for common roads, and also from those of mowing-machines, angular projections to cause the wheels to adhere to the surface of the roadway, and therefore I make no claim to such, my invention having reference to drivingwheels with flanges, such as are employed on railways, and it is to assist such a wheel along or prevent it from slipping on the iron rails of the track.

It is well known that one great cause of the slipping of a railway-wheel on its rail in winter, is the accumulation of ice and snow alongside of the rail to such extent that when the flange runs over such ice or snow it elevates the wheel so much ins to raise its tread oil the'rail, inwhich case the wheel will have no hold of the rail, and will slip on it or exert little or no tractive force to impel the engine along. Under such circumstances the spurs will come into play, and by catching into the ice will give the adhesion or break up the ice so as to keep the wheel down upon the rail.' One great object of my spurs is, therefore, to breakup the ice in order to keep the wheel on the tread-rail.

What I claim as my invention, is- The arrangement and combination of traction-spurs with the tread and the flange of the driving-wheel of a locomotive-engine, to be used on the rails of a railway, the whole being substantially as and for the purpose as specified. v p

' JOHN BIRKENHEAD.

Witnesses R. H.-Ennv,

F. P. HALE,- Jr. 

